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Mars Sundials - True Colors, Ambiguous Hours

Posted by timothy on from the painted-desert-is-timed-too dept.

An anonymous reader writes "NASA's Astrobiology Magazine today has an interview with Bill Nye, the Science Guy, who spearheaded the first interplanetary sundial, which will land on Mars in early January. The Cornell sundial inscription reads "Two Worlds, One Sun" in 17 languages [including ancient Sumerian and Mayan], and was selected over such historical mottos as one French sundial that reads: "Every hour injures; the last one kills". The sundials were an inspired transformation of a needed [mainly orange-pink] color wheel to calibrate the Mars' panoramic cameras to give true Martian colors, but so resembled the shadow-casting time pieces, that Nye took it over to become an internet-updated interplanetary dial." Read on for some more. Our reader continues: "There are no conventional hour lines at all on these dials, because unlike regular sundials, they are on moving platforms. Nye says: 'Before people figured this out back in the first era of Mars probes (also the first Disco Era) the images from the Viking spacecraft were too pink or orange. Those "over-pink" images still show up in Mars science fiction movies and Mars-themed posters and restaurant walls. One of the charming challenges is roughly, "What is an hour on Mars?" Is it a "Mour?" Is it a "quadraduodeci-sol," a twenty fourth of a sol, a Mars day? ' The interview recounts the Apollo 12 controversy over whether one of the first lunar probes, Surveyor, returned viable contaminants to Earth."

10 of 184 comments (clear)

  1. Second post by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    mad props to gnaa

  2. bill nay the science gay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    I have nothing to add to this conversation.

    1. Re:bill nay the science gay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      I have nothing to add to this conversation

      Spoken like a true fscking dork that one would expect to see driving around in some stupid useless "powered by Honda" rice wagon piece of shit spewing whatever lound and ridiculous boy-band music through lame exaggerated sub-woofered lemming vehicle.

      You obviously have nothing to add to this converation because you have absolutely nothing of value to add at all. I suspect that this is the most complete sentence you've ever formulated in your twelve years of eduaction. Do us all a favor and seek out sterilization before you pollute the gene pool with your seed.

      What's that sound?

      It's your mommy calling you, you little twenty-year old prick

      Bill Nye has more brain cells in his in his little toe than you have in your pasty un-exercised fast-food laden carcass. Kiss my ass.

    2. Re:bill nay the science gay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      pasty un-exercised fast-food laden carcass

      Hunh, the parent post must have been modded down by that tub of lard a.k.a. Cowboy Neal.

      Well said.

  3. Bill Nye speaks out against Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
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    1. Re:Bill Nye speaks out against Linux by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

      I'd call you a fucking asshole retard, but that would be insulting to fucking asshole retards.

      Please do humanity a service and remove yourself from the gene pool, preferably in a very long, drawn-out and painful fashion. Feed yourself feet-first into a wood chipper, that should do nicely.

  4. MOD PARENT DOWN!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Parent poster must be a cockhead to not think that NASA is the most important thing our govt does EVAR!! FUCKING PUNISH HIM!!!!!!!1

  5. HAHA! FLAMEBAIT!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    That's what you get for going against the Slashdot grain. Better not say anything against Linux either or Taco will delete your account! LOL!

  6. Nerds. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    what are the nerds talking about today?

    microsoft sucks?

    linux rules?

    bill gates is evil?

    hell, those three comments alone should get a +5...nerds.

  7. How is this going to work? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    Sundials only work if it's a clear day. Mars has such a thick layer of clouds that the surface temperature is over 800 degrees due to the greenhouse effect. In fact, the surface of Mars is hotter than the surface of Mercury even though Mercury is closer to the sun. How do they expect a sundial to work?